I Love You Bo!

It seems like everyone is nostalgic about their horses these days. Both Swamp Suburbia and Mrs. Mom have been writing about their horses-current and past ones!-and it has made me want to post some vintage photos of Bo and Amber. As some of you know, Amber leased Bo for five years, returned him to his original owner because she wanted him back, and received a phone call-after Bo being gone for five years!-that his owner wanted to give him to Amber because she was moving to Colorado.

There has also been a lot of talk, in horse blogging circles, about how many of us have had a special connection, with either a current horse or a horse from our past, and whether or not we will find that with another horse again. I am not done with my How It All Began story, and I know that I will never have the same level of intimacy-sounds kind of gross, but you know what I mean!-with another horse as I had with Shadest, but Bo and I definitely have something. When Amber previously had Bo, Shadest was still alive, and I had one, then two little kidlets, so I did not pay him a whole lot of attention, but I was the one who convinced Amber to lease him...because I thought that he had a cute personality (Amber thought that he was an ugly example of an Arab, but I told her that she had to look past that).

It was an awful day when Shelby, Bo's old owner, came and picked him up from my parents house five years ago, and I can still see Amber leading him into Shelby's trailer. We were not very happy about him leaving, because we had a feeling that he would just sit and not be used. Over the past five years, we were able to keep tabs on Bo Bo, because an old co-worker of mine lived near him, and drove by his pasture everyday (her daughter is the same age as Shelby, and showed with her for years). Needless to say, our worst fears were realized when she told us that he was out in his old pasture, with about six other horses, no shelter, and was only being fed once a day. Bo had clearly had a rough go of it, as his condition attested to when we got him back in May. Thank goodness he is once again "ours," and this time it is me who has developed a great relationship with him. Don't get me wrong,...Bo still loves Amber, but he is always happy to see me and the kidlets, and lets us know by nickering to us when we drive up to Amber's house. I love Bo Bo, and am glad that the two of us-as old and rusty as we may be!-have been able to return to horsemanship together. I love you Bo Bo!!!

Bo and my kidlets go waaaaay back! Here they are, with Amber, standing at my mom and dad's back door waiting for treats.
Amber used to show Bo all of the time, and at some of the shows, once the performance classes were over, they used to do some gaming for fun. Bo Bo was quite the speed demon in his day-well actually, he still is!-and they usually cleaned up in gaming as well.One year at our county fair, Amber was asked to carry the 4-H flag on Bo. Didn't he look handsome back then?These are old copies from a photographer who took pictures of Amber and Bo at the Washington State Fair. He was always so handsome in his English attire.

Bo Bo looks silly in this one, but I posted it so you can see how un-marred his coat was. If you look at the pictures that I take of him now, he is covered with scars that he received during the past five years. Shelby told us that we would be shocked by his coat when he shed out, because he was involved in an accident on a bridge, while trail riding, and because the other horses in the pasture beat up on him pretty bad. I guess so!!!!

Ohhhh...and did you notice the tail bag??? That is for you Jewel! I told you that we understood the preparation that goes into making a gray Arabians tail look full and white!!! Sooooo...the point of this post was to say that "yes," you can find another equine buddy after having that special one...it's just a little different!